About Us
We focus on breaking down barriers in the legal system so everyone can engage with knowledge, clarity and dignity.
Our Approach
Our Vision
A legal system where everyone can participate fully and fairly. We envision communities served with clarity, respect, and care.
Our Mission
We work to make the legal system more accessible and user-focused. Our goal is to empower people and improve justice delivery.
Core Values
We value equity, empathy, and practical solutions. Our work is grounded in collaboration, integrity, and impact.
Centering User Experience
Associations & Memberships
About the Founder
Cristina Llop
Founder of Law Within Reach
Cristina Llop is the founder and principal of Law Within Reach. She is an attorney with over 30 years experience, and a federally and California certified Spanish court interpreter. In her capacities as both an attorney and an interpreter, she has provided consulting and training services to courts, legal services providers, private attorneys, and interpreters.
Cristina has dedicated her legal career to helping low and moderate income persons obtain their day in court. In addition to working as a legal aid attorney for years, Cristina spent 10 years at the San Francisco Superior Court directly helping self-represented litigants by giving them the tools to engage with the court as informed and empowered consumers. She worked closely and collaboratively with judicial officers, court administrators, and line staff to improve systems and services to better serve court users. In addition to directing the court’s self-help center, Cristina provided training to community-based organizations and worked with these organizations and legal aid agencies to improve the network of legal and other supportive services needed by court users navigating the justice system without an attorney.
Over the last 10 years, Cristina has consulted with local courts and statewide court systems to make their services and programs more accessible to self-represented litigants, addressing barriers to access and inefficient practices in order to improve policies, planning, and services. She also specializes in creating and delivering court and legal information to court users in plain language, using the web and other tools to communicate critical information in a clear, concise, and easy to understand manner.
In addition, Cristina has focused her expertise as a bilingual attorney and certified court interpreter to work with individual non-profit agencies, local courts, and state judicial branches to develop language access planning, implement language access strategies and solutions, and deliver quality language access services. She has developed specific language access policies and protocols, developed training curricula for court staff, judicial officers, and legal services providers, and trained court staff, legal services attorneys and the bench throughout California and nationally on language access strategies. She has also trained court interpreters on interpreting in civil matters and working with self-represented litigants.